Random postings on politics, economics, history and anything else that is not technology (for that, see my other blog). My postings on non-technology subjects will be necessarily coloured by my background in technology, so apologies for that. But then, that's the unique perspective it gives me :-).

Friday, 10 December 2010

So China persuaded a bunch of countries to boycott the award of the Nobel Peace Prize to dissident Liu Xiaobo.

And what a bunch of countries they are!

Afghanistan

Algeria

China

Colombia

Cuba

Egypt

Iraq

Iran

Kazakhstan

Morocco

Pakistan

the Philippines

Russia

Saudi Arabia

Sri Lanka

Sudan

Tunisia

Venezuela

Vietnam

(There are 19 countries in this list but the news reports say 16 countries boycotted the ceremony, so I don't know which of these actually attended. Certainly Serbia changed its mind under EU pressure and decided to attend after all. I hope the Philippines and Sri Lanka attended. They shouldn't belong to this bunch.)

I wouldn't want to live in any one of these countries. They've selected themselves well.

[Perhaps India wants to send China a message that its sensibilities aren't to be trifled with. China issues "stapled visas" to Indians from the state of Jammu & Kashmir, while it issues regular visas to Indians from other states. It denied a visa to an army general because his area of command included Jammu & Kashmir. These are pretty pointed statements that it doesn't recognise Indian sovereignty over Kashmir. And it insists that the state of Arunachal Pradesh is actually South Tibet and thus belongs to China.

Well, what's sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander. When the very legitimacy of the Tibet annexation is in question, how can "South Tibet" be part of China? I think the world should start to question the Tibet annexation, and also threaten to recognise Taiwan as an independent nation.]

China needs to be asked hard questions, and other countries should have the spine to stand up to its bullying. I'm glad India showed some spine, for a change.